Not too late.

Can you believe it is February already?

If you haven't started connecting with the right audience just yet, don't panic, there is still time.

​If you want to achieve different results in 2017, then you need to be doing things differently. But habits are hard to break! You may have mapped out a great plan for your marketing activity, connecting with customers, reaching out to new customers, keeping in contact with previous customers (I get it - your plan is awesome), but somehow February has rolled around and you haven't quite got it all happening just yet. Don't panic, there are still 11 months to go.

​Here are some tips to help you get back on track:
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1. Refocus. Have a look at what you had planned for January, but rather than simply double up and make February too ridiculously busy, move a few things around. Perhaps spread the 'not yet done' activities from January across February, March and April.

2. Be realistic. Executing marketing activity requires changing behaviours. Be gentle on yourself and think about building up your practice. For example, in February get 2 blogs done, in March get 3 done and in April get 4 done. Then all of a sudden you're off and racing and blogging once a week!

3. Schedule it in. Don't just plan to do email newsletters once a month. Schedule in the date you will send it, then work backwards, scheduling in the preparation work required to prepare an email newsletter.

4. Write in whiteboard marker. Ditch the permanent pen! Try keeping your schedule on a whiteboard (or electronically) so you can move tasks around as required. You may find better email open rates occur Tuesday morning, but you have scheduled in your emails to be sent on Fridays. If it's written in whiteboard marker, it is easy to change over to Tuesdays!

5. Set aside a power hour. As a business leader, you are often busy with your core business, busy making money. The marketing tasks can easily be put aside. But one day creeps into one week and into one month and all of a sudden it is February! You probably won't find a whole day to put aside, so don't. Put aside 1 hour. I call it a power hour. Turn your phone and emails off and concentrate on your marketing for just 1 solid hour. You'll be amazed with what you can achieve!

6. Consider collaboration. I have two clients who work together on their marketing and I think this is a super idea! By coming together, they are strict with setting the time aside, and respectful of each other's business. They share ideas, brainstorm and keep each other on track. Sometimes being a business leader is lonely, and collaborating with another can enhance both businesses.

7. Consider delegating to a consultant. Sometimes it is worth handing specific tasks over to a consultant. Although there are costs involved, sometimes your focus needs to be on your core business. Weigh up the pros and cons and allocate tasks to the most efficient resource.

Please remember that a plan is just words on paper until it is executed. I have heard of many amazing ideas still being just great ideas years later. I have also seen simple ideas executed consistently and effectively resulting in powerful returns. My favourite mantra right now is 'get stuff done' (#gsd). Trust the process and just get on with it. Let me know how you go.